A fourth Russia-connected tanker in under a week was attacked on Tuesday, a sharp uptick in strikes on Moscow-associated shipping as the war in Ukraine nears a fifth year.
The tiny oil and chemicals tanker Midvolga-2 was sailing across the Black Sea to Georgia from Russia hauling sunflower oil when it was attacked about 80 miles off Turkey’s northern coast, the Transport Ministry’s Maritime Affairs Directorate .
It remains unclear who carried out Tuesday’s strike. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry denied involvement in the incident and no party has so far claimed responsibility for it. A majority of attacks on Russia-linked shipping over the past year have likewise gone unattributed.
Read more: Black Sea Shipping Insurance Rates Rise After Ukraine Attacks on Tankers, Sources Say
What is known, however, is that every vessel targeted in the recent attacks was Russia-linked or had called at Russian ports prior to being struck 鈥� a pattern that underscores the war-related backdrop to a surge in strikes 鈥� even if the perpetrators remain unknown.
Russia and Ukraine are fighting an increasingly intense energy war as they attempt to gain a meaningful advantage after months of stalemate on the frontlines and ahead of potential new peace talks.
Midvolga-2 was hit early Tuesday by drones, according to Turkish officials familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The attack came despite criticism by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the “alarming” incidents are threatening safety and navigation in his country’s waters.
It takes the number of ships attacked since late last week to four: two others near Turkey’s Black Sea coast, a third off Senegal, and this one. That compares with at least five in the prior year. The manager of the Mersin, the vessel attacked off Senegal, Turkey’s Besiktas Shipping, said Tuesday that it would “no longer undertake any Russia-related voyages” due to the escalating security situation.
A person with knowledge of the matter said Ukraine was behind the two drone strikes on oil tankers in the Black Sea on Friday.
The Midvolga-2, sailing under the flag of Russia, hasn’t requested assistance and its 13 crew are unharmed, Turkey’s Transport Ministry said, adding that the vessel is sailing to the Turkish port of Sinop under its own power.
The owner, listed as Moscow-based Mazk Management on maritime database Equasis, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Alongside the shipping attacks, Ukraine has gone after a record number of Russian oil refineries and caused major damage to an oil port in Russia’s Black Sea that handles oil from Kazakhstan.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to lead a delegation to Russia for talks this week on the latest proposal to end the war in Ukraine.
Turkey has tried to position itself as a neutral mediator in the conflict, hosting peace talks in Istanbul while selling weapons to Kyiv and importing Russian oil shunned by its NATO allies. More recently, Turkey started curbing crude purchases under growing US pressure.
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